🔗 Share this article

Ex-leader Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the Moscow-drafted proposal for peace was "not my final offer", following strong backlash from Ukrainian officials and analysts who compared it to the 1938 Munich agreement involving Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler.

During short remarks at the White House, Trump told reporters: Our goal is to achieve peace. This should have occurred earlier … we are attempting to conclude it, one way or the other it must be resolved."

Upcoming Switzerland Talks Involve Multiple Countries

US and Ukrainian delegates are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Sunday to discuss this proposal. Security officials from France, Britain and Germany will also participate in the talks in Geneva.

Ahead of these discussions, American lawmakers informed the press that State Department head Marco Rubio contacted them while en route to Geneva to clarify the details of the leaked plan. He said, the proposal did not originate from the administration but instead a "wish list of the Russians", according to Senator Angus King, a member on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Ukraine's President Faces Crucial Deadline

However, Trump has given Volodymyr Zelenskyy until Thursday to sign the 28-point document. The document requires Kyiv to cede territory under its control to Moscow, downsize the size of its army, and surrender long-range weapons. It also excludes a European peacekeeping force and sanctions for Russian war crimes.

In a sombre address on Friday, Zelenskyy cautioned that Ukraine confronts a difficult decision in the near future between keeping its national dignity and losing a major partner in the shape of the US. He admitted that it faces one of the most difficult moments historically.

Ukrainian Negotiating Delegation Appointed for Upcoming Talks

Speaking on Saturday, the president emphasized that real or respectable peace depends on "guaranteed security and justice". He announced a negotiating team, established through a decree, that would soon meet American representatives in Switzerland, led by his chief of staff Andriy Yermak.

Another member of the Ukrainian delegation, ex-defense head and national security council secretary Umerov, said they will hold consultations with the US "on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement".

Hinting at red lines, Umerov added: "Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This represents a continuation of recent discussions focused on harmonizing our plans for future actions."

International Reaction and Concerns

Zelenskyy has attempted to participate positively with a White House seemingly determined to end the conflict on the Kremlin’s one-sided terms. He has emphasized he cannot give up the nation's independence or abandon the constitutional framework that protects the country’s current borders.

At a meeting in South Africa, leaders from the G20 and EU representatives issued a joint statement pushing back on the proposed deal, saying it needs "additional work". It said that EU and Nato members would need to be consulted regarding certain clauses, that exclude Kyiv’s Nato membership and put conditions on its European Union membership.

Citizen Opinion in Kyiv

Ukrainian reaction to the proposal, drawn up by a Russian representative and Trump’s representative, have been largely negative. Analysts argued it was a blueprint for further Russian aggression: not only of Ukraine but other European regions too.

Nayyem, a public figure who led the 2014 Maidan protests, said it drew comparisons with Chamberlain’s infamous Munich deal. The proposal came from the same "recognisable genre", with the victim invited to outline its own surrender for broader convenience.

On social media, he said he was outraged by the complete pardon for Russian atrocities. This offended people who had hidden in basements in affected cities – sites of civilian executions – and families of deported children to Russia. "A rather cynical agreement," he concluded.

Speaking in Kyiv’s Golden Gate metro station, Dmytro Sariskyi, 21, commented that Russia had been trying to control Ukraine politically and territorially "for years". The agreement offered very little in the proposed deal and continued to keep its forces on Ukrainian soil. In my view, this deal aims to undermine Ukraine and impose unfair terms, he remarked.

Should Ukraine accept the terms it would be compelled to sacrifice its liberties, he said. If it didn’t, the US would most likely break off cooperation and intelligence sharing, a crucial source of military intelligence for Ukraine's forces. "There is no good way out of this for now," he remarked.

Diverse Viewpoints from the Public

Another passenger, 19-year-old Sofia Barchan, said that Ukraine would remain resilient lacking US backing. "We will fight for as long as it takes. Our territory will remain our territory, including Crimea and the east. They are Ukrainian land." She expressed Zelenskyy was a "smart person" and forecasted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Speaking during rainfall, next to a replica of Kyiv’s original medieval gate, Ivanovna said her appreciation to the former US leader for his attempts to broker peace. She suggested that the nation should be ready ceding Crimea and the eastern Donbas region for a limited time if it meant keeping America as a partner. The president should conduct a public vote on this matter, she said.

EU Leaders Condemn the Proposal

Previous European leaders have roundly condemned this proposal. Finland’s former prime minister Sanna Marin called it a disaster, affecting not just Ukraine but for "all of the democratic world". She warned if Western nations display vulnerability – as it did in 2014 when Putin annexed Crimea – further hostilities could arise.

The former prime minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, referenced a statement by Churchill regarding appeasement as someone who accommodates an aggressor. He continued: "Trump now takes Putin’s side. Europe faces a choice between compromise and principles. Another moment of truth for our [European] union."